Should you buy personal breathalyzer in 2022?

Personal breathalyzers

Firstly, if everything is quite simple and clear with professional models - their choice limit to a list of devices officially approve in a particular country, then with the choice of a personal breathalyzer for any private buyer, everything is not so obvious. Models that exist today can differ from each other in price by several times and offer a variety of functionality.

For the most budget models, a measurement error of up to ± 25% is permissible. In addition, they almost never have any additional features.

What is the accuracy of personal breathalyzer?

The accuracy of more expensive models reaches ± 5%, while they often have built-in clocks, flashlights, etc., and some can even work in conjunction with branded mobile applications , calculating the degree of intoxication of a person and the estimate time of complete sobering up, depending on his gender, age, weight, etc.

Motorists who use personal breathalyzer for self-control (for example, in order not to drive with traces of alcohol in their blood the day before), prefer to carry the most compact devices powered by batteries or a car cigarette lighter in the glove compartment of a car.

In this case, it is desirable to use more or less accurate models, since the simplest ones may simply not respond to a small amount of alcohol vapor in the exhaled air.

Frequently uses of personal breathalyzer

In addition, personal breathalyzers are frequently and successfully uses by parents to test "puberty" children. Who love to flirt with alcohol to excess, and they also act as independent arbiters in various alcohol-relate contests at parties.

 At the same time, the very affordable price of such devices today allows everyone to have them in the house, as they say, "just in case" - you never know when you need to jokingly or seriously determine the degree of sobriety of a particular person ...

Furthermore, a personal breathalyzer is an electronic measuring device uses to determine the concentration of alcohol in the air exhale by a person. This indicator is directly related to the practical content of alcohol in the blood.

The principle of operation of the breathalyzer

To perform the analysis, the breathalyzer reads air from the lower part of the lungs. It has previously been in contact with the alveolar vesicles. They contain capillaries. In this part of the lungs, blood saturate with oxygen, so it is not closed by capillary walls.

Due to this, in the presence of alcohol in the blood, its vapors evaporate freely, remaining in the respiratory tract. The more alcohol in the blood, the higher the concentration of its vapors in the lungs will be.

How does breathalyzer work?

The personal breathalyzer allows you to determine the degree of intoxication of a person without the need to take biological fluids. It is completely painless, safe and hygienic. Eventually, most breathalyzers have removable mouthpieces. They are a disposable tube insert into the device. After examining one person, the use mouthpiece removes and replace by another for the next test.

The sequence of steps for conducting an alcohol test is very simple. After turning on the device, it is necessary to blow strongly into it, blowing out all the air from the lungs.

 After a few moments or seconds, depending on the internal filling of the breathalyzer, the device will give the actual blood alcohol content. This indicator is expressed in ppm.

What is ppm?

An indicator of 1 ppm indicates that a liter of human blood contains 1 ml of pure alcohol. It is worth noting that in the circulatory system of a person who does not even drink alcohol, there is always a small concentration of alcohol.

As well as, it can come from kefir, kvass, medicines, bananas, oranges, chocolates, and even sausage sandwiches. Such low alcohol content does not cause intoxication, but can be determined by a breathalyzer.

Every Country has its own alcohol level law

Each country has a legal maximum blood alcohol limit for driving a motor vehicle. Generally, the driver is not punished if the concentration of alcohol is up to 0.16 ppm in the exhaled air or up to 0.35 in the blood.

Drinking too much alcohol at one time can be fatal. A fatal share of alcohol is 5-6 ppm. Direct strong intoxication of a person occurs already at an alcohol content of 2.5 ppm. A strong liquor such as vodka or cognac in a 0.5 liter bottle has approximately 0.2 liters of pure alcohol.

 With the use of such an amount by one person with normal health and average physique, the concentration of alcohol in the blood will be 2.5 ppm. In this case, the lethal dose will be 1.5 liters of strong alcohol.

Types of personal breathalyzer

Since the invention of breathalyzers in the early 1930s, they have been improved many times over. As a result, different devices appeared, differing from each other in purpose and performance.

They are:

• Professional.
• Special.
• Personal.

Professional personal breathalyzer

A professional-grade breathalyzer is the most productive device capable of performing about 150-300 checks per day. These devices use by traffic police officers. The error of professional devices is only 0.01 ppm.

Professional breathalyzers are quite compact. Often they equip with a built-in printer that allows you to immediately print the measurement results. 

Such advance models use in large enterprises to control the sobriety of employees in responsible positions. In particular, such personal breathalyzer uses to control taxi and bus drivers before going on a flight.

Special personal breathalyzer

Special breathalyzers design for several dozen tests per day. Usually they use in small businesses to control the sobriety of employees. Such devices distinguishe by good accuracy, while they may have approval certificates confirming the possibility of their use for medical purposes.

Among special devices, club breathalyzers can single out separately. Outwardly, they resemble more a jukebox, approaching which and throwing a coin. You can check yourself for the actual content of alcohol in the blood. Such devices call club devices, as they install in places where alcohol is sold. 

Using such a breathalyzer, the visitor can measure the actual concentration of alcohol in the blood in order to stop in time and prevent poisoning. Club devices connect to the outlet, so they do not require recharging.

Individual breathalyzer

Personal breathalyzer is best for individuals. Lastly, they operate only on batteries and are not very accurate. They use solely for self-control, to make sure that the body processes the residual products of alcohol. Knowing the results of measurements, it is possible to determine the onset of sobriety of the body to be able to drive.